Sand in the City

This past weekend Iowa City had an outdoor event called Sand in the City. We are a little unsure of why they did it but heard that it was a playful reference to all of the sandbagging that happened last year during the summer due to the flood. At any rate, in this town you don't actually need a reason to have an event because people will go anyway, and so we went. It was about as raucous as you would expect but I'll show you a few pictures to give you a visual anyway.

They always have a lot for kids to do at these things and this time was no exception. They had craft booths and carnival type games (most of which looked like they were actually private backyard games that had been donated, but whatever!) and they had 2 play areas with piles of dumped sand for kids to build their own sand castles. That was actually pretty cool. We wished Jonah was big enough to play in it but will have to wait for next year. (We are assuming that there will be a next year since they were selling commemorative T-shirts this year.)


Local businesses did sand sculptures on the sides of the road and 2 roads were blocked off so people could view them and check out the rockin' band.



We wanted to go check out the festivities because we have missed out on so much here this summer. In all honesty we love how much Iowa has to offer in the summertime, especially since it is usually all free. Plus we have read that fussy babies usually enjoy being outside and that the fresh air improves their temperament. Worked like a charm!

Test Drive

While we were in California, Jonah fell in love with the swing that was at Nana and Papa's house. He went for a ride everyday and more often than not fell asleep in it. It gave us a bit of a rest and let us get stuff done while he slept instead of holding him all the time. Last weekend we went on a road trip to Davenport, Iowa (about 45 minutes away) to try and find a swing that he would approve of for our house. He test drove a few and found one that worked. So far he hasn't quite taken to it like he did the one in Fresno, but we're still hoping!

Backslide

The last few days have unfortunately been a little bit of a backslide as far as Jonah's temperament is concerned. While we must give the little man credit for his lack of meltdowns, his fussy budget times have noticeably increased. We can't decide if it's harder now because we have gotten so used to his cheery disposition since we've been back home. There is a bit more whining than we would like and he is very needy. (Funny to say about a baby, I know.) We are doing our best to cater to him, since he is of course just a baby, and still a young one at that! For guidance we are reading the book The Happiest Baby on the Block. It goes by the philosophy that until the baby is 3-4 months old they are basically in need of a fourth trimester. That means more holding, swaddling, feeding, and rocking until his brain can learn to help him comfort himself. We are going along with this method as it seems to be soothing him in his fussier times. All the while we are continuing to track his naps just to see what routine he is creating for himself. Once he gets a bit older, and a bit more stable, we will try the whole schedule thing. Until then, we will just keep making due!

Busy days

Wow, my days have become so busy. Aside from eating 8 times a day (sometimes more like 11) and sleeping for 12 hours (not all at once, of course), there are all sorts of things I have been doing. I really like getting dressed up in all the cool clothes my mom gets me. As you can see, I am pretty cute.


Mr. Grumpy and I have been spending a lot of time together. We hang out, talk, laugh, cry...all the usual "guy" things. He can be a bit of a downer at times, but all in all, I really like him.


I still like to play at the gym, but when the gym isn't around, I am fine with lying on a blanket and flailing my arms and legs. When I'm doing this, Dad likes to make funny faces and sounds for some reason. I feel bad for the guy, so I usually give him a smile here and there (especially when he tickles me). By the way, I did not pick out the blanket I was on in the video below. Hopefully Nana will have a much more stylish blanket the next time I visit.

After a long day, I tend to get a little worn out. I would be able to tough it out and blow through nap time, but my dad usually gets really tired. He gets so cranky when he is tired, so it is really best if he takes a nap. Unfortunately, he doesn't sleep very well unless someone is holding him.

Brand New Boy

I didn't want to jump the gun and say it out loud too soon, but I think that we've got a brand new boy on our hands! We couldn't be happier! Here's how it happened...

The day before we left for California Jonah had the worst day that he'd ever had. He screamed the whole day and was in meltdown mode from morning to night. It was so overwhelming that I had to call Andrew and ask him to come home from work early. All it did was add to my fear about going home, but as stated in an earlier blog he did phenomenally well when travel day came. Not only that but he did really well overall the whole time we were in California. He began smiling more, even at night which was always his worst time and had never seen a smile before. He only had a few fussy budget times (level 2 on our fussy scale) and never had a full fledged meltdown. I wanted to be cautiously optimistic but thought more than once, "What if he's gonna do better now? What if the day before we left was the worst of it and the 'fussy fever' broke?"

Well it turns out that might actually be the case. We have been home for a few days now and Jonah's good temperament has continued. We have not had one meltdown from little man since we have returned. The nighttime smiles have continued and he has even taken to falling asleep without a crying session first. He either whimpers a bit first or sometimes just closes his eyes and sleeps. That was unheard of before we left! I am still wary of it all since all I have known up until now is a fussy baby, but if this is our new world then I'll take it!!



Here's Jonah's 2 month photo with Green Monkey. He doesn't even need the Boppy to hold him anymore, we just propped him up in the corner of the couch! He is getting so big!

Home Again, Home Again...

We returned "home" to Iowa today after our week and a half vacation in Fresno. (I put home in quotes because I could just as easily say that we went "home" to Fresno in the first place. But I digress...) I am happy to report that the traveling today went just about as smoothly as it did over a week ago. There was a teeny-tiny bit of fussiness from little man, but nothing in comparison to what we know he is capable of. He didn't sleep as much as he did when we went to California, but was just as well behaved even with the extra wake time. We are all tired and happy to be home.

Jonah's Dedication

This past weekend we had the joy of having our son dedicated to Christ. We did a private dedication at the Smith's house for a few close family and friends and followed it with an open house meet and greet. Grandparents on both sides were present (obviously) as well as Jonah's aunts and uncles, a great aunt and uncle, and one of his great grandmas. We were also blessed to have many close family friends there who have already been great encouragements to us on this journey. It was a full house and a busy afternoon but little man did a great job holding it together. He was passed around from person to person all day long. He periodically fell asleep and threw a small fit once but spent the rest of the time just looking around and taking it all in. For us, it was a nice time to chat and catch up with some of the most important people in our lives. Lots of advice was shared, and appreciated. Even more stories were told as people recounted their own early days of parenting. Since we had a wide range of ages present we were able to bond with those who are currently in our same season of life and glean encouragement from those a little farther along. All in all the day was a blessing to us. We were so happy to have been able to formally present our child back to the Lord in such a way and to ask for help in growing him from the very people who have helped us grow.

Crazy Iowa weather

While we have been enjoying the weather out here in California, there have been some crazy things going on in Iowa. The short video below was shot from our deck in North Liberty by a friend. According to Erik:

It was rather calm before that line of clouds came and then in a matter of seconds the wind just gusted. I almost dropped my phone which would have sucked. I'd say before the clouds got there the wind was 5-10mph at worst. After the clouds came it was probably 40-50mph. They said there were 90mph winds west of Cedar Rapids. The temperature dropped from 80 to 68 quickly.

It sounds like we missed some fun!

Miracle Flight

I have spent the last few weeks worrying about what our flight to Fresno would look like. The culmination of the hours spent fretting in no way prepared me for the way travel actually panned out. Much to our amazement, Jonah traveled like a seasoned pro. The trip to Fresno consists of a 20 minute drive to the airport, two, two hour flights, and a layover in between. Jonah rode in peace to the airport (he usually cries and is part of the 1% or so of babies that don't fall right to sleep in the car). He slept through the security check, boarding the plane, the ascent, and about half the flight. Then he woke up, ate a little, hung out with us and then quietly went back to sleep in time for the descent! As we got off the plane we actually had a number of people (3 to be exact) tell us what a good baby we had!! It was absolutely unbelievable how calm and laid back Jonah was the whole time and equally amazing that he slept as much as he did.


Negative little Eeyore that I am, I continued to wait for the other shoe to drop, but it never did. The layover was a breeze and he was equally well behaved on the second flight. Because he was awake for the descent the second time he did cry for the last 10 minutes but gained sympathy and not annoyance from those around us. All in all I was blown away and nearly brought to tears myself by how unlike my fears the entire day was. My mother covered the day in prayer and was confident that it would turn out just as it did, but I was not so sure. It certainly goes to show that worrying accomplishes nothing and that God loves to surprise and bless us even in the little things. Praise the Lord!!

Going Back to Cali

Time flies when you are having fun (that's a little tongue in cheek as Jonah sits in his swing screaming!). It has been more than 7 weeks since Jonah's birth and it is time for him to meet all of his family and friends back in Fresno. We fly out tomorrow for a week-ish vacation. We purposely did not plan as full of a trip as we normally do because of the unpredictable nature of our little man, but we still have a few fun things in store. During the week we are going to have a date night, sans the little guy, because we have not had one since he has been born! We have people volunteering left and right to watch Jonah, and though it will feel a little foreign to us, we plan to take full advantage!! There will definitely be lots of time for Nana and Gramma to hold him! Mostly our trip will consist of eating at restaurants we miss (as always!) and spending time with family and close friends. Hopefully the different surroundings and people will agree with Jonah and he will break out of the latest string of fits he's been having. Either that, or everyone else will get to experience it first hand!